Lieghio fourth at 800 meters in South Bend

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE — In its final competition date prior to hosting the national meet, the top-ranked University of Arkansas got a fourth-place finish at 800 meters from Anthony Lieghio Saturday at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind. It was the second day of racing at Notre Dame for the Razorback senior who helped Arkansas’ distance-medley relay post an NCAA-qualifying time Friday evening. Running in the sixth of seven heats Saturday, Lieghio finished third in his heat and fourth overall with a time of 1:48.88. The performance is his second-fastest time of the season. Lieghio entered the weekend with a season-best time of 1:48.56 and currently sits at No. 17 on the NCAA performance list. Teammate Andrew Pisechko clocked the second-fastest time of his freshman campaign, 1:50.76, to finish 24th overall in the event. On Friday, Lieghio teamed with Kemoy Campbell, Patrick Rono and Travis Southard in the distance-medley relay for a season-best time of 9:30.22 to finish in eighth place overall. With the top-14 DMR times in the NCAA emerging from the race, the Razorbacks are currently ranked eighth in the country. The time for the Razorback foursome also represents the No. 7 performance on the program’s all-time list. Saturday’s competition also featured Nathanael Franks at 400 meters and Solomon Haile at 3,000 meters. Franks, a multi-event specialist, crossed the finish line in 48.63 for a 27th-place result, while Haile finished ninth in his event with a time of 8:05.93. He will finish the year with a season-best 3K time of 8:01.17 from his run at the Husky Classic in Seattle. While in the past automatic and provisional qualifying marks were used to select the field for the NCAA Championships, all guidelines have been removed this season. Just the top-16 performers in individual events and the top 12 eligible relay teams will advance. Accepted entries for the national meet are scheduled to be released Monday evening. Arkansas will host the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend (March 8-9) at the Tyson Center for the 11th time in program history. For tickets, visit the Razorback Ticket Center on Razorback Road by Baum Stadium, log on to the online ticket center at ArkansasRazorbacks.com or call 800-982-HOGS (4647). Keep up with Arkansas cross country and track and field through the team’s sport-specific RazorbackTF Facebook and Twitter pages.Saturday Results 400 Meters 27. Nathanael Franks — 48.63 800 Meters 4. Anthony Lieghio — 1:48.88 24. Andrew Pisechko — 1:50.76 3,000 Meters 9. Solomon Haile — 8:05.93 Distance-Medley Relay(from Friday) 8. Rono/Southard/Lieghio/Campbell — 9:30.22